TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay's long, embarrassing search for a
coach ended Monday with the hiring of Jon Gruden, one of the elite
candidates they had sought all along.

Not only was he the one the Buccaneers coveted after Bill
Parcells turned them down, but actually prying him from the Oakland
Raiders provided one last bizarre twist to a five-week saga.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reports that the contract with Gruden is for five years and $17.5 million. In the compensation package, the Raiders will receive first- and second-round draft choices in 2002, a first-round choice in 2003, and a second-round choice in 2004.

The deal also includes $8 million in cash payable over three years to the Raiders.

The Bucs said Gruden would be introduced at a news conference Wednesday in Tampa.

The sons of Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer settled on Gruden after
spending the weekend in negotiations with San Francisco's Steve
Mariucci, who was offered the opportunity to become Tampa Bay's
coach and general manager, but never got a chance to turn it down.

“

We were determined not to let outside pressures derail us from our goal to find the best person to coach the Buccaneers. That person is Jon Gruden, the finest young mind in the game. ”

— Bryan Glazer

"We talked about contract, but nothing had been agreed upon as
far as solid numbers," said Mariucci, who cited family reasons for
wanting to remain in San Francisco.

By the time the 49ers coach called the Glazers with his answer
Monday morning, the owners had already contacted Raiders owner Al
Davis to revive talks that broke down two weeks ago when Tampa Bay
and Oakland could not agree on compensation for Gruden, who had one
year left on his contract.

Gruden has family ties to Florida. His father was a scout and
assistant coach with the Bucs in the 1970s and lives in Tampa. His
younger brother, Jay, is player/coach of the Arena League's Orlando
Predators.

"They've got themselves a heck of a coach," said Mariucci, who
didn't want to uproot his family. "The Tampa Bay situation is
perfect for (Gruden's family)."

The price for Gruden was steeper than the Glazers would have paid for
Mariucci, who has two years left on his contract. The 49ers were
offered first- and third-round choices in 2002 and second- and
third-round choices next year.

The 38-year-old Gruden, the NFL's youngest head coach, had a
40-28 record in four seasons as the Raiders' coach. He led the team
to the AFC title game a year ago losing to eventual Super Bowl
champion Baltimore.

This year, the Raiders again lost to the eventual champion,
dropping a second-round game in overtime at New England after
blowing a 10-point lead in the final quarter.

Gruden replaces Tony Dungy, who was fired Jan. 14, leading to a
search that made the Glazer sons the laughingstock of football.

"I'm glad we finally got this out of the way and we can move
forward," said Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks, one of several
Tampa Bay players who have expressed concern about the damage the
search has done to the franchise's image.

First, the Bucs were rejected by two-time Super Bowl winner
Parcells, with whom they were said to have a deal in place even
before Dungy's dismissal.

Then they then failed to reach agreement with the Raiders on a
deal for Gruden, who let it be known through his agent, Bob
LaMonte, that he did not plan to remain in Oakland beyond 2002.

The search hit a low point when the Glazers vetoed general
manager Rich McKay's plan to hire for Baltimore assistant Marvin
Lewis as Dungy's replacement.

"We were determined not to let outside pressures derail us from
our goal to find the best person to coach the Buccaneers. Our fans
deserve nothing less," Bryan Glazer, the team's executive vice
president, said in a statement.

"That person is Jon Gruden, the finest young mind in the game.
We took our time and got the man we really wanted and we couldn't
be more thrilled."

It's unclear how McKay now fits in the Glazers' plans. Mariucci
would have replaced him as well as Dungy.

The Atlanta Falcons would like to hire McKay as their GM, but
likely would have to compensate the Bucs unless he's fired.

Gruden is an offensive specialist, a plus for a team that was
strong on defense but weak on offense under Dungy. So is Mariucci,
who had been at least the eighth candidate the Bucs approached
after firing the popular Dungy, who has since been hired as head
coach in Indianapolis.

Defensive end Simeon Rice envisions the team prospering under
the new coach, too.

"You put a guy on the rise with a team on the rise and we're
going to reach the top of this game," Rice said. "The situation
didn't look good for a while, but you put a guy like him in the mix
and everything looks beautiful now."